Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

I love this park! I feel like it has something for everyone. Great hikes, regular ranger programs, and now a nice new visitor center! The staff is very friendly and the park is very interesting, especially the fossil lab. It is one of my all time favorite national parks! #findyourpark

Lots of hiking trails and much beautiful scenery, including several petrified Redwood stumps but I was disappointed in not seeing very many insect fossils. The Visitors’ Center was very informative and the ONLY place I saw a few plant/​insect fossils.

We drove to the place next door where you can farm fossils, but it had rained the day before and that place was closed. The monument was just down the road so we went. The park consists of hiking trails and a short film and was free, so I cant complain. We walked out and looked at the giant redwoods, but it started to rain again so we left.

Super value for hours of fun. Ranger Jeff was great. Super enthusiastic. The visitors center was put together very well. Easy hiking loops around the area give you views of petrified redwood trees. A volunteer archeologist gave a great hands on lecture at one if the dig sites. Great family outing.

We visit a lot of national monuments, parks, and museums each year. This one was pretty disappointing. While we enjoyed looking at the sparse exhibits and visiting the adjacent Homestead location, the overall experience was severely lacking. It just didn’t live up to our expectations especially when compared to the other attractions we have visited. The fee is nominal, or I would have been much more disappointed to spend money on this when we could visit other free attractions. I think if we lived nearby it would make an excellent hiking spot, however.

Make sure you watch the movie at the visitor center first … and then check out their excellent displays and walk the-​self-​guided-​tour … very informative and educational

The most boring place that the National Park Service runs in Colorado.
Fossils of ancient insects? Whoa! That’s soooooooooo interesting.

Without question, viewing petrified redwood stumps and a cabinet full of small fossils was fascinating– and within a hundred yards of the parking lot. The rangers are well informed and happy to share information.
The majority of the park consists of hiking trails, and we took a 4 – 5 mile hike along the wildlife trail, spotting a chipmunk or two. The terrain of this particular trail wasn’t very challenging, and the walk was pleasant– although about a half-​mile of it was on the shoulder of the local road.

Great place for a history lesson! Nice trails, well marked. Very friendly staff who can answer questions. They’re getting a new building soon, which will really make things nice and modern… and green! Can’t wait to come back!

We are lucky to live only 10 minutes from there and we as a family have to be so careful to not take this beautiful National Monument for granted.
Their are beautiful Hiking Trails all around from as easy as 1 mile loop to more challenging trails and the Ranger Station is very informative as are the people working there. Our boys loved the Junior Ranger Program and have learned so much about Nature and History there.

We were here in July 2010. Pretty cool. Poorly scripted and produced video in the main building. Very good live docent presentation in the amphitheatre out back. Nice walking trails. I’ve never seen so many rangers at one location in my life. Displays scattered all over. The place must have a big budget. A better, more cohesive and comprehensive set of displays would be good, to allow for a better understanding of the site.

As the website says «Beneath a grassy mountain valley in central Colorado lies one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.»
I am not sure how no one has Unilocaled about Florrisant Fossil Bed National Monument before. The fossils, rocks, hills, and valleys that make up Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument reveal to us an ancient story of redwood forests, volcanic eruptions, and a climate much different than today. In addition to a rich ancient history, the Florissant valley also contains the stories of prehistoric hunting and gathering Paleo-​Indians, the Ute and Jicarilla Apache peoples, the travels of a pioneer nation, and of early scientists making their way through discovery into a different time.
Admission is cheap, there are wonderful strolls & hikes, you get to see something completely different then you have ever seen before, and you get to learn more about the way the earth and Colorado have been shaped.